Redlands Forum a holiday showcase for actors

REDLANDS -- It will be an actor's showcase when the Redlands Forum hosts the Reader's Theater holiday performances next week.

The stories, O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" and Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales," will be performed on Dec. 20 and 21, in the Esri Conference Center.

"It is real lovely," said Chris Beach, Theater Arts Department chairman at the University of Redlands and one of the founding actors of the holiday themed performances. "We do different dialects, play different ages and it's very fun. There is some great music."

It will be the fourth straight holiday themed Forum. Beach will be joined by fellow actors Sally Norton, Wendy Hunt and Matt Colem.

Beach is the director as well as an actor in the two performances.

"Our first show was about 12 years ago and Jack Dangermond and his wife came and said they loved it," he said. "They invited us to perform at Esri for the last three years. This year they wanted us back and wanted something different."

"A Child's Christmas in Wales" is the retelling of Christmas from the view of a young child, and "The Gift of the Magi" is about a young married couple dealing with secretly buying gifts for each other with little money.

The actors and the audience thrive on the Reader's Theater format.

"The basic rule of thumb, the performer doesn't leave the music stand more than an arm's distance," Beach said. "It is all about finding the right music, the mood and tone in the language with the voice."

Storytelling at its best, Beach hinted.

"It's very much about the art of storytelling," Beach said. "It really allows the audience to be read to and it lets their imagination create the reality of the characters and the sounds."